On average, a customer—your reader—needs to see your book more than seven times before taking the leap to make a purchase.
But if you’re using the same mockups as everyone else, your book can start to blend in with the rest of the crowd. So how can you make sure your books stand out in an increasingly crowded market?
The answer is leveling up your mockups. And great news: you don’t even need Photoshop to do it.
(You do, however, need to be comfortable with some zooming in and have a good eye. Or, if you’d prefer, you can click on the banner below and learn how we can do it for you.)
Step One: Gather Your Images
We adore the gorgeous mockup images available through Image Apothecary. You can also find mockups through any stock photo site you already know and love, and there are also plenty of free, commercial-use-friendly stock photo sites. Regardless of the site you use:
- You might have to search a bit to find an image that will work for the vibes of your book, but don’t settle unless it’s absolutely necessary!
- Make sure you have permission to be doing what you’re doing with the image!
If this is your first time editing images like this, you’re going to want to choose a mockup that has a screen. I’ve found that the ones with iPads and ereaders are the most user friendly, since phone screens nowadays have curved edges and cutouts. I have successfully made mockups with physical books in them, but they require a little more finessing and a few other tricks. Let us know in the comments if you’d like to see a physical book mockup tutorial!
And, of course, don’t forget to use the highest-possible resolution of your book cover! Search for your cover designer’s email address in your inbox, and you should be able to find the initial.
Step Two: Copy, Paste, and Distort
We’ll be using Pixlr to add a book cover to our mockup. I know you’re surprised that we’re not using our beloved Canva, but unfortunately, Canva does not (yet?) have the ability to manipulate image size and shape with the flexibility we need to accommodate varying screen sizes and angles in images.
We highly recommend watching (and rewatching) the video to get a better sense of how this works in practice.
Let’s begin by opening a new image—our mockup. Then, of course, you’ll open an image again to upload your cover.
You’ll notice that they open in separate tabs within Pixlr. Navigate to your cover’s tab, select all, and copy. Then, go back to your mockup’s tab and paste the cover on top.
In the menu, find Edit, then Free Distort. Click and drag the corners so that they align with the corners of the screen. You will want to zoom in to make sure you aren’t accidentally leaving a strip of bare screen. Once you’re satisfied, hit enter, and you’re almost there! All that’s left to do is export and save, and you’re ready to use your new image!
Step Three: Use Your New Mockup!
It’s all well and good to know how to make these images. Once you get the hang of it, you may even find the process enjoyable or relaxing.
Sooner or later, you’ll have a few images that you could use, but those images won’t do you any good if you wait to use them until just the right moment, or if you even wait to start making mockups until you’ve gotten new covers.
I encourage you to make the mockups. Make lots of them and post them with abandon. Take it from someone whose Instagram is very much dormant because she suffers from perfectionism—posting the things you make, even imperfectly, is the more fun option.
